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Race for the Cure brings enthusiasm, awareness

Runners and walkers take off Saturday morning for the Bayou Region Race for the Cure on the Nicholls State University campus.

Abby Tabor/Staff

Kathrine SchmidtStaff Writer

Published: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 11:34 p.m.

THIBODAUX — Sharon Martinez, who works as a janitor at Bayou Boeuf Elementary, was diagnosed with breast cancer about four weeks ago.

But she was thrilled that about 75 of her family members, friends, and co-workers from the close-knit Bayou Boeuf community decided to support her by forming a team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K run and walk Saturday in Thibodaux. They wore shirts that read “Sweeping up Cancer,” to honor Martinez, who is active in community service.

Martinez was unable to attend the race, since she was still at home recovering from surgery last week.

“All her friends and family wanted to come out and support her,” said Katie Cortez of Houma, a graphic designer and member of the team.

That was just one of the stories that motivated roughly 2,500 participants who came out on a chilly fall morning to participate in the 13th annual race, according to Gretchen Landry, chair of the event and director of the cancer center at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.

The goal is to raise money to help local women undergoing treatment for cancer. This year’s mark was set at $125,000. Saturday’s race was the largest ever for the Bayou Region Race for the Cure and was held for the first time at John L. Guidry stadium at Nicholls State University. The race outgrew its former home at Peltier Park, which hosted 1,952 participants last year.

The growth of the local event mirrors the increasing awareness of breast cancer nationally, Landry said, from a National Football League campaign where players wear pink cleats and hats to pink consumer products whose proceeds support the cause.

Landry remembers that the first year, the group struggled to find 30 women to be identified as survivors, and they were reluctant to go on stage to talk about their experience. This year, 135 survivors participated.

Race for the Cure was founded in 1982, when Nancy Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to help cure breast cancer. Even saying the name was taboo, and treatments were harsher and less effective.

Today, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. The Bayou Region group is one of 125 offshoots of the race in the nation, representing Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. James and Assumption parishes.

Among the runners was Amy Portier, 28, of Chauvin, who works in medical billing. She remembers when her grandmother, Shirley Henry, would take the young women of the family on a girls’ day where they would paint their toes and watch the Golden Girls.

Henry died of breast cancer 18 years ago, and she was on Portier’s mind as she prepared to start on the course pushing in a stroller her daughter, Drew, 6 months, who wore her own pink hat with a zebra-print bow.

“It’s just to honor her memory,” Portier said.

Denise Washington of Thibodaux, a 13-month survivor, and Dora Powell of Gray, an 11-year survivor, were both getting ready for the race with a friend, Deloris Henderson of Thibodaux.

“It has grown tremendously,” said Powell. “We want to help, we want to find a cure. Before, it was very hush-hush.”

Two veteran mammographers from Lady of the Sea Hospital in Galliano also took to the course on Saturday. Tracy Bourgeois, dressed up in a pink tutu, has performed mammograms for 29 years, and Natasha Angellette has done so for 10 years.

Both say they’ve seen improvements in education and prevention among women over their careers. Women aren’t as ashamed of their bodies, and are more willing to seek preventive treatment and take care of themselves, they say.

But despite the dramatic rise of breast-cancer awareness campaigns in the last few years, Landry, the event organizer, said she has not seen a comparable rise in women seeking preventive care, namely the mammogram, which scans the breasts for early signs of cancer. Monthly-self exams to detect anything unusual can also be an important trigger.

If you have insurance or Medicare, mammograms are covered under both. If you don’t have insurance, there are grants that can help pay for mammograms and the doctor’s visit tied to it.

Staff Writer Kathrine Schmidt can be reached at 857-2204 or Kathrine.schmidt@houmatoday.com.

<p>THIBODAUX — Sharon Martinez, who works as a janitor at Bayou Boeuf Elementary, was diagnosed with breast cancer about four weeks ago.</p><p>But she was thrilled that about 75 of her family members, friends, and co-workers from the close-knit Bayou Boeuf community decided to support her by forming a team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K run and walk Saturday in Thibodaux. They wore shirts that read “Sweeping up Cancer,” to honor Martinez, who is active in community service. </p><p>Martinez was unable to attend the race, since she was still at home recovering from surgery last week.</p><p>“All her friends and family wanted to come out and support her,” said Katie Cortez of Houma, a graphic designer and member of the team.</p><p>That was just one of the stories that motivated roughly 2,500 participants who came out on a chilly fall morning to participate in the 13th annual race, according to Gretchen Landry, chair of the event and director of the cancer center at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.</p><p>The goal is to raise money to help local women undergoing treatment for cancer. This year's mark was set at $125,000. Saturday's race was the largest ever for the Bayou Region Race for the Cure and was held for the first time at John L. Guidry stadium at Nicholls State University. The race outgrew its former home at Peltier Park, which hosted 1,952 participants last year.</p><p>The growth of the local event mirrors the increasing awareness of breast cancer nationally, Landry said, from a National Football League campaign where players wear pink cleats and hats to pink consumer products whose proceeds support the cause.</p><p>Landry remembers that the first year, the group struggled to find 30 women to be identified as survivors, and they were reluctant to go on stage to talk about their experience. This year, 135 survivors participated.</p><p>Race for the Cure was founded in 1982, when Nancy Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to help cure breast cancer. Even saying the name was taboo, and treatments were harsher and less effective.</p><p>Today, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. The Bayou Region group is one of 125 offshoots of the race in the nation, representing Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. James and Assumption parishes.</p><p>Among the runners was Amy Portier, 28, of Chauvin, who works in medical billing. She remembers when her grandmother, Shirley Henry, would take the young women of the family on a girls' day where they would paint their toes and watch the Golden Girls.</p><p>Henry died of breast cancer 18 years ago, and she was on Portier's mind as she prepared to start on the course pushing in a stroller her daughter, Drew, 6 months, who wore her own pink hat with a zebra-print bow. </p><p>“It's just to honor her memory,” Portier said.</p><p>Denise Washington of Thibodaux, a 13-month survivor, and Dora Powell of Gray, an 11-year survivor, were both getting ready for the race with a friend, Deloris Henderson of Thibodaux. </p><p>“It has grown tremendously,” said Powell. “We want to help, we want to find a cure. Before, it was very hush-hush.”</p><p>Two veteran mammographers from Lady of the Sea Hospital in Galliano also took to the course on Saturday. Tracy Bourgeois, dressed up in a pink tutu, has performed mammograms for 29 years, and Natasha Angellette has done so for 10 years.</p><p>Both say they've seen improvements in education and prevention among women over their careers. Women aren't as ashamed of their bodies, and are more willing to seek preventive treatment and take care of themselves, they say.</p><p>But despite the dramatic rise of breast-cancer awareness campaigns in the last few years, Landry, the event organizer, said she has not seen a comparable rise in women seeking preventive care, namely the mammogram, which scans the breasts for early signs of cancer. Monthly-self exams to detect anything unusual can also be an important trigger.</p><p>If you have insurance or Medicare, mammograms are covered under both. If you don't have insurance, there are grants that can help pay for mammograms and the doctor's visit tied to it. </p><p></p><p>Staff Writer Kathrine Schmidt can be reached at 857-2204 or Kathrine.schmidt@houmatoday.com.</p>